X-AMOUNT of COMICS [the 1963: WhenElse?! Annual] FAQ (SPOILER ALERT)

As followers on my social media know, I’ve been working on my satirical “ending” to 1963 all year (the working title has been the 1963: WhenElse?! Annual; now, it has been rechristened X-Amount of Comics). As of this writing (mid-December, 2022), I’ve penciled and lettered all of some 71 pages of the story and inked more than 30 of them. I am planning a wraparound cover (the original “cover” features profanity I’d rather not censor), and I may yet add certain pinups and shorter one-page strips, along with notes and text, at the end, rounding it out to an 80-page project. Follow me on Facebook for updates.

Below are some of the frequently asked questions I’ve been getting as I’ve been posting scans of penciled and inked pages in a Facebook album since January 2022 (spoiler alert). They progress from technical and logistical issues to creative concerns and motivations behind this unusual undertaking.

Is this really happening?

Yes; if you’re really seeing images of my drawings and comic book art, you can assume they are real.

Who is going to be publishing this?

Publisher, format, pricing are TBD. I’ve gotten a hard pass from one prospective publisher (no fair guessing!) and passive interest from others, but no final decision has been made. My hope has always been to get this into print sometime in 2023 (the thirtieth anniversary of 1993 and 60th of 1963, depending on how you may be counting!).

Have you considered a crowd-funder?

No, for a number of reasons. Beyond a few variant covers I’ve contributed to various I’ve never been directly involved in a crowd-funder and have never bought anything through a crowd-funder. Based on anecdotal stories I’ve heard—many horrific—I have a negative impression of them generally. In any case they seem to have grown highly sophisticated these days and overwhelming for a beginner to set up, and easy to screw up. I would therefore be very reluctant to attempt my first with this project.

How are you subsidizing the production of this project?

So far, through sales of my original art and commissions from generous fans and collectors. Thanks for your support—you’ve made 2022 a truly record-breaking year!

Are you afraid that by posting your progress online it will hamper sales of hardcopies?

Not really. Nowadays, a printed comic gets pirated online as soon as it’s released anyway. The online previews may satisfy the curiosity of some people who never buy the hardcopy; my conviction, however, is that true fans and collectors still want the printed artifact regardless.

How is the fact that 1963 was never finished your grievance, anyway?

It is true I only lettered half the series and inked half an issue, but otherwise have no ownership stake over any of the properties. Nonetheless, I feel a proprietary sense of connection that is difficult to describe (among other things, this series was the first appearance of the “Dandy Don” nickname, which has stuck longer that I ever expected!). I’ve been autographing copies of the extant issues for thirty years and hearing the laments of fans and retailers who supported the series financially and who feel ripped off particularly by the author who took a huge payday and never followed through, and who subsequently refused to cooperate on even a collection of the extant issues. Along with all the collaborators on the series, I feel denied having my name on a proper bookshelf edition, along with the recognition that would accompany it, which the work deserves.

Keep in mind that the work, even now, could still be completed; nothing about my intervention prevents that. Although a remote possibility, I sincerely maintain hope that someday it will be so completed by the original participants. In the meantime, this is likely as close as anyone is going to get.

Is this the authorized 1963 Annual involving the original characters?

No. It is completely a satire, utilizing my own characters. A few years ago, I created an N-Man story for Stephen Bissette’s Naut Comics anthology (still forthcoming), and at one point we discussed creating an “annual” utilizing his characters such as the Fury and avatars of the other characters. But another project is doing something along those lines. My project, strictly speaking, uses nothing from the 1993 series except a date that is in the public domain, and as far as I understand, cannot be trademarked.

Will this provide a satisfying conclusion for fans awaiting an ending to the original 1993 series?

No, of course not. How could it? It is a satirical contemplation of why the series was never finished, along with some philosophical musings on parody, satire, avatar universes, plagiarism, originality, the meaning of characters (and readers) left in limbo, the public domain, and much more. However, it should provide certain other satisfactions.

I understand that the author wrote a plot for the conclusion to the original series, but I am not privy to any of its contents and know no more than the hints contained in the extant issues that everybody knows. Anyone who recalls the series will immediately realize I’m not attempting to follow any of its plotlines or characterizations anyway; I haven’t even gone back to look at any of the comics. Any similarity or lucky guesses would be purely coincidental.

Aren’t you just bashing the author and the people you see as responsible for never finishing the series?

Sure, but as the story unfolds it quickly moves on to other concerns. You can see from everything I’ve posted whom I hold responsible for never finishing the series. This aspect of the work, frankly, is over about a third of the way through the story. Then it becomes about some hypothetically-abandoned characters in search of a universe to which they can belong.

You refer to In Pictopia, Wasteland, Victory Folks, Splitting Image, and even Megaton Man and Bizarre Heroes in the work. You even include a cameo from Big Bang Comics, a series to which you contributed. Isn’t this just one big self-indulgent exercise in self-promotion?

Yes. But I’m using all of these associations to make a point about avatars, parodies, homages, archetypes, originality, and so on. The question that fascinates me is: What’s the difference between a “real” comic book character that becomes a famous brand-name trademark, and a transparent imitation that is forgotten, or even falls into the public domain?

Spoiler alert: I think it has something to do with creative labor, dare I say talent.

Wasn’t Watchmen originally based on the Charlton characters? How did it become its own thing, on its own terms? My guess is it has something to do with the creators involved as well as, good or bad, the publisher who kept it in print and the media that promoted it. Again, why did Superman become a household word and Stardust fall into obscurity? Probably more to do with the labor power behind the former and the lack of same behind the latter.

It’s not a mystical process, although we tend to mystify it as some sort of otherworldly-genius-artistic transaction. It’s not; it’s mostly sitting down at the ol’ drawing board and applying some elbow grease, and gettin’ ’er done.

Which is why, incidentally, the author shouldn't feel threatened by continuations or adaptations of his work by other talents in comics or other media; anyone with any brains realizes the reason they are enjoying a given comic book is because of the people who made it, not the titular characters.

In any case, I’d like to think I’ve learned a lesson or two from the author I’m supposedly bashing!

I’d like to think I would have been interested in the original Image Comics series even if I had never been a part of it, never worked for Image, never worked with Alan Moore. That’s saying a lot, but by 1993 I had already created the first issue of Bizarre Heroes for Kitchen Sink Press (1990) as well as the Fiascoverse print (1991), and was working on Don Simpson’s Bizarre Heroes, which I would go on to publish under Fiasco Comics, my own imprint.

Nowadays, we would describe the original 1993 series as an “avatar universe”—a simulacra of Silver Age comics—on of many that include Big Bang Comics, Astro City, Brat Pack, and even Image United; in a sense, these could also be described as more solemn, straight-faced parodies. In a sense, that’s what I’ve been doing my entire career; initially, I approached Megaton Man as parody, but I developed that narrative into an avatar universe through Bizarre Heroes. My satire could be thought of as an avatar universe of an avatar universe; it’s an infinite regress.

Aren’t you just ripping off the author?

If anything, I’m ripping off myself and my own work for polemical purposes. I’m comparing some of the properties I’ve created and control—along with elements I consider to be my distinct creative contributions to certain collaborations—to new characters like Cyclobster, the Black Bug, Helldiver, Dr. UG, and others, to make the point that the only thing separating these pastiches from more “real” characters like Ms. Megaton Man is labor power—years of comics and stories—and reader familiarity.

In other projects, such as Splitting Image or War of the Independents #4, I’ve felt some restraint as to how much I can involve Megaton Man or my other properties. After the author took his name off of In Pictopia and proclaimed me and every other collaborator he’s ever worked with “unprincipled opportunists,” I somehow don’t feel any such restraint!

Aren’t you afraid of the wrath of the author and his toxic fans?

The author and his toxic fans have never loved me back.

What plans do you have from these characters you’ve created or repurposed for this project?

At the end of the story, they all end up back in the Megaton Man universe (as if I needed more characters to work with), for which I have a great many ideas that I plan to pursue in 2023 and beyond, God willing. Stay tuned!

All characters, character names, likenesses, words and pictures are ™ and © Don Simpson 2022, all rights reserved.